Tokei no Hari The Clock's Hands
by CocoGirl
Summary: A fanfiction based off of Hetaoni. Feliciano goes through one of the worlds in the loop, believing this will be the final loop he'll have to go through… But is it, really? I suck with summaries. xD Contains blood and character death!
1. Chapter 1

This fanfiction contains death of canon characters. If you're the type that will want to throw scones at this beautiful author who is writing this awesome fanfiction, feel free to scream like an angry fangirl and push the back button on the menu of your preferred internet surfing program.

As well, please read the warnings and follow these rules when reading this fanfiction:

-This fanfiction is a fan-based story of **Hetaoni**, which does not belong to me. It is owned by a person at nico nico douga.

-This fanfiction may contain spoilers up to episode 16 of **Hetaoni**, so if you don't like spoilers, feel free to just push the back button on your menu and leave this page.

-This story is meant for EVERYBODY, so please, no yaoi related comments.

-The author's first language is Japanese, not English. So I'm sure there will be grammatical errors here and there in the fanfiction; please do not become a Grammar Nazi. If it really bugs you, please send me a message, but do not comment a whole rant about it in the reviews.

-This story takes place in world number ?. Yes, I don't know. Feliciano has been through so many worlds, so just read it as if it's one of the ones he had to go through.

-This story may contain blood and gore in later chapters.

-Some characters may be OOC.

-This has nothing to do with real politics, history, countries, or anything as such.

-It is not a complete requirement, but please try to call the characters by their human names or nicknames when reviewing. This is to help people who do not want to stumble upon this fanfiction when they are basically want to study about WW2.

I'm sure this fanfiction will not bring cheery smiles to everyone's faces, but if you're a strong, kind person who is still willing to say "Yes, I'll read it for you", then please sit back and enjoy your stay.

Thank you!

CocoGirl

* * *

><p>Chapter 1<p>

"No… Not again…" The brunette male murmured softly, his dark amber irises wide. He stared down at the body in his arms in which was slowly losing the warmth of life and pulled it closer to his own frame. Feliciano could feel the thick liquid seep its way from the top layer of his blue suit to the dark shirt he wore underneath, slowly bleaching his clothing crimson. "No… Kiku… No…"

In his arms was what was once a country: a powerful, yet calm and naïve country, which had become one of Feliciano's best friends. Ever since they met each other in the 1940's, the two nations formed a bond close enough for them to understand each other at the time of need and help one another. Now, the raven-haired nation was limp in the brunette's arms, only being held up and supported by him. "I told you! I told you that you couldn't leave all by yourself! I told you!"

Now anger more in his voice than any other emotion, Feliciano tightened his grip on the Asian, and finally let him go fully. Kiku's cold body dropped to the body with a thud, and Feliciano could only watch it happen. When Kiku didn't get up right after and complain about how Feliciano had to be more careful, the northern half of Italy simply closed his eyes slowly in sorrow. Not again… They were so close!

_What did I do wrong this time…?_ Feliciano thought, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists by his sides. It all seemed to go perfect until they reached this room. Then, that Thing came in and attacked… And his friends couldn't fight back. Arthur was blind, Alfred had broken both arms by then, and Ludwig was too busy protecting Gilbert, who was so fatally wounded that Ivan had to carry him to this room, despite his own aching pain in his legs from being attacked by that Thing several times. Yao and Francis was not as badly wounded, but the Chinese man kept complaining how he had constant back pains that only kept getting worse, and Francis was pretty much trying to help out with healing Canada, who was the first to go unconscious and not wake up in this world.

Feliciano finally opened his eyes once more to get a good glance at his surroundings. This world was over. All around him was just a large mess of blood with several bodies lying around. As if it was waiting, the Thing stared at Feliciano with its dark, glass-like eyes, and finally slowly let a grin come to its face. Italy frowned at the sight. He had to get out of here, reach the clock, and rewind the time to go to the next world.

"I told you to come and get me first." Feliciano growled, as if he was demanding an answer from the Thing. The Thing chuckled darkly and spoke back in uneven breathes, as if it could not understand when to take a breath when speaking the language.

"I caught. You." It said, taking a step forward closer to Italy. Feliciano took a step back cautiously. He knew where the clock was, there was no rush to finding it. But first, he wanted the response he was waiting for from that Thing.

"But that wasn't part of the promise." Italy grumbled. "The deal was that you come and catch me first."

"But. I caught. You. This time."

"Not yet." Feliciano shook his head and finally turned fully. He then bolted to the large clock in the corner of the next room, with the Thing following right behind. "You didn't keep your side of the deal, so this world is not worth staying in. See you in the next one. I hope next time you can at least keep a promise or two."

With that, Feliciano began to turn the hands of the clock, and immediately he felt himself grow tired. He allowed the feeling to take over, and in a split second, he passed out.

* * *

><p>"Italy, wake up." A deep voice spoke and Italy felt himself being shaken rather roughly. The Italian opened his eyes slowly, already knowing what to expect, and let out a yawn. "The conference is over. You slept through the whole thing?"<p>

"Ve… I'm sorry, Germany." Italy laughed and pushed his head up from the table. He rubbed his left eye and let out another yawn. "It's just… I was up late last night trying to work on my new outfit, you see? I kind of forgot of the time and by the time I finally went to bed, it was already 3 in the morning!"

Germany sighed and shook his head slowly, giving Italy a disapproving look. "I told you to not do that…"

"I'm sorry, captain." Italy apologized innocently. "I'll be more careful next time."

As Germany nodded and turned away to talk to his older brother, Italy finally was able to get a glance around his surroundings… Though, honestly, he didn't need to. He knew where everyone stood, how many pizzas were left in the box, what was on the board and what nonsense America was talking about in every single detail possible.

"So I heard there's a haunted mansion nearby!" America said cheerfully to England, who just seemed to ignore the younger country and sip his tea. Italy watched as America tried to regain England's attention. "Hey, Eyebrow! Did you not hear me? A haunted mansion!"

"I don't have time to go to something as childish as that, America." England responded finally, showing clear annoyance to the nickname given to him by his ex-little brother. "Besides, I'm sure you'll be the first one out of it, squealing in fear like the pathetic little pig you are. It's not worth the time."

"What? That's not true!" America protested, puckering his lips in anger childishly. Italy took the chance to let his eyes wander to the other members in the room, some looking rather interested in America's mentioning of a haunted mansion.

"I'll go, if you are looking for someone to accompany you." The first to speak up was Germany's older brother, Prussia. Prussia grinned to America and crossed his arms across his chest. "It'll be great to upload pictures of scared little America on my blog."

Not taking to that comment too happily either, America just nodded in silence, a clear look of annoyance on his facial expression. France saw this and just laughed, adding in saying that he'll go as well.

"Oh! I want to go too!" Italy added in. Phew, safe. He almost forgot that he had to push himself in to be in this group. "It sounds like fun!"

"Then I'll go as well." Germany added himself in. He took one glance to Italy, then to Prussia. "Someone has to keep an eye on them."

"I'll go too, aru." China said, looking up from a novel he was reading at the table. "It sounds interesting."

_Then Japan says…_ Italy mentally noted, just as Japan stood up. "I'll go as well… But only to just look around, that is all."

A frown appeared on Italy's face when he heard Japan say that line. He's heard it many times… Almost in every single world. Did that mean this world was not that different…?

"Then I guess I'll join the party too." Russia chimed in, smiling oh so innocently to the group. "You'll need someone who will be able to keep us all under control, da?"

"I'll help you with that job…" Canada joined in, nodding to Russia. Russia smiled to the almost invisible country and nodded back, as if he actually appreciated the offer.

"I'll first go with Canada, Russia and Prussia, then." America smiled to the group, already wanting to be the leader of it all. Italy listened carefully as the groups were assigned. "We'll go in first and defeat any ghosts that are possibly in there for all of you latecomers."

"Then Japan, China, West, England, France, and Ita-chan will go afterwards." Prussia nodded in agreement to the arrangements. He patted Germany's back as if to reassure him, which only made him receive a look of confusion from the blonde. "Don't worry, West. Big brother will take care of all the scary ghosts!" His attention was then shifted to Italy. "You too, Ita-chan, no need to worry about the scary ghosts! I'll make sure they'll all be dead by the time you arrive!"

"Okay." Italy smiled, as he always has, at the lines Prussia blurted out. "That way, I won't have to be scared at all, huh?"

"Nope, cause the Hero will double check to see if they're all dead!" America boasted, then began to laugh his all famous laugh right after. Italy took the moment to let himself frown slightly. No one was looking, so he should be okay.

_Will we be able to get out safely this time…?_


	2. Chapter 2

This fanfiction contains death of canon characters. If you're the type that will want to throw scones at this beautiful author who is writing this awesome fanfiction, feel free to scream like an angry fangirl and push the back button on the menu of your preferred internet surfing program.

As well, please read the warnings and follow these rules when reading this fanfiction:

-This fanfiction is a fan-based story of **Hetaoni**, which does not belong to me. It is owned by a person on nico nico.

-This fanfiction may contain spoilers up to episode 16 of **Hetaoni**, so if you don't like spoilers, feel free to just push the back button on your menu and leave this page.

-This story is meant for EVERYBODY, so please, no yaoi related comments.

-The author's first language is Japanese, not English. So I'm sure there will be grammatical errors here and there in the fanfiction; please do not become a Grammar Nazi. If it really bugs you, please send me a message, but do not comment a whole rant about it in the reviews.

-This story takes place in world number ?. Yes, I don't know. Feliciano has been through so many worlds, so just read it as if it's one of the ones he had to go through.

-This story may contain blood and gore.

-Some characters may be OOC.

-This has nothing to do with real politics, history, countries, or anything as such.

I'm sure this fanfiction will not bring cheery smiles to everyone's faces, but if you're a strong, kind person who is still willing to say "Yes, I'll read it for you", then please sit back and enjoy your stay.

Thank you!

CocoGirl

* * *

><p>Chapter 2<p>

"Now this is what I expect from a haunted house!" The silver-haired male exclaimed excitedly, his arms crossed across his chest. He gave an approving nod to the appearance of the mansion, reminding himself the need to take pictures and update his blog of this place. Beside him, the American laughed, a nervous look on his face.

"I know what you mean, dude." He said, his ocean blue eyes wandering to scan the building as a whole. He remembered how Italy so excitedly told him of this place, his rarely opened eyes wide and seeming to sparkle. The blonde remembered how the Italian tried to explain what he heard when he was ditching Germany's training, and how he wanted to see if the other countries could go as well, as if they were all going to suddenly get along now.

America shook his head at the Italian's possible naïve thoughts. If that's what the pasta-loving boy really thought, he really needed to know more about who he hung out with all the time. Even America knew that the countries he asked to go to the haunted house with were not all ones that got along well: Like France and England. In fact, America doubted they will all ever get along.

"Hey…. Alfred, was it?" Russia blinked, turning to the now silent blonde. America blinked and turned to the large country, who just smiled. "Did I say it right?"

"Yeah." America nodded. "Yeah… Alfred. Your name was Ivan, right?"

"Da," Russia kept the same smile on his face as he tilted his head now. "That's the name I chose."

"It's going to take some time to get used to these names…" Canada commented, rubbing his head. America laughed as his brother puckered his lips out childishly. "Kumakichi doesn't even know my country name, how will he learn my human name?"

"Max," Prussia turned to Canada.

"Matthew." Canada corrected him, sighing in the process of doing so.

"Oh… Yeah, Matthew. Do you know why Ita-chan told us to get these random names? I mean, yeah, I understand it could help us from not affecting the civilians too much than if we were to use our country names, but it seemed as if he knew that from the beginning. Kinda weird seeing Ita-chan warn us about that, I would expect West to instead…"

Ivan and Alfred turned to the conversation the two countries held now. It was out of the blue, they remembered, when Italy told them to give themselves human names before they left for the haunted mansion. It also seemed as if he was in a rush, in panic.

* * *

><p><em>"America! Wait!" Italy called, running up to the American. He stopped as soon as he was able to get a hold of the brown jacket. "Wait, let me ask you something… You all, too."<em>

_Russia, Canada and Prussia blinked as America turned fully to face Italy now. The four countries stared at Italy, confused, wondering what caused the seemingly immature country to stop them. When Italy fell silent the next moment however, the group looked at each other._

_"Ita-chan, we'll go kill the ghosts if they are any." Prussia repeated his reassuring words, showing off his 'strength'. "So you don't have to be scared. Besides, you're coming later, right?"_

_"If… If you were to give yourself a human name…" Italy started, panting at first, trying to catch his breath. When he looked up to the others, the group saw worry in the Italian's eyes. "If you were to do that, what would the names be?"_

_The group only stared at Italy in pure confusion and curiosity when the country asked the question. Canada and Prussia looked to one another, as if looking for an answer on the other country's face, but after confirming that none of them understood the Italian, they shifted their attentions back to the pasta-loving male. When they saw the serious look on Italy's face, Prussia once again spoke up, as if he was reading the atmosphere._

_"I think I like the name Gilbert." He laughed. His crimson orbs then went back to looking at Italy, who seemed to stare at him with wide eyes. Taking that as a bad thing, the silver-haired country stuttered right after asking him, "What? Is it a bad name?"_

_"N-No…" Italy shook his head after a moment of silence. He sounded a lot more relieved than before. "What about you, America…?"_

_"I'll be Alfred." America grinned. "I think it sounds like a good name for a perfect hero, no?"_

_"It does," Canada said, before adding his own name, wanting to calm the Italian. "I like Matthew."_

_"That sounds dull." Russia commented on Canada's name and thought for a moment. "Ivan. Sounds nice, net?" _

_"They all sound like good names." Italy commented, a smile on his face now. "I like them all. I like the name Feliciano."_

_"Sounds Italian enough." America laughed._

_"Mhm. That's why I like it." Italy commented back. "Um… Why don't we play a game…? Like… Call each other by our human names while we are inside the mansion… That way, it won't sound like there are many whole countries going into haunted houses, you know? I mean… That could cause a lot of commotion if we do that to our civilians…"_

_"True." Canada nodded, amazed at the Italian's working brain for a moment now. "I like that idea…"_

_"I don't mind…" Russia added in. "But if we don't start soon, we won't be able to get there by today…"_

_"Ah… Y-Yes, I'm sorry!" Italy blinked in realization. "I'll see you at the mansion, then!"_

_"You too, Feliciano." Prussia grinned. The first group nodded to each other and turned away from the waving brunette, headed for the mansion._

* * *

><p>"Well, just standing here won't do us anything," Prussia commented, breaking America's trail of thoughts and injecting excitement within the blonde. Russia gave a quick glance to Canada as the country nodded in agreement, though, his face showed clear uncertainty. Russia mentally noted the look on his face and turned his attention back to the mansion.<p>

It looked like it was some sort of church, with the cross engraved in the middle of the building. Other than that, the place looked rather simple, with the cream-colored wall and a reddish brown roof that seemed to steadily hold itself together. The front yard in which the group stood at didn't seem to look old… As if someone still lived in the house and had time to take care of the outside looks. Just as Russia narrowed his eyes in suspicion on how there was not even one rock with moss on it, Canada pushed a strand of grass with the tip of his shoe, blinking his violet eyes at the fresh color of emerald grass. He looked up to stare at Russia, and nodded when Russia returned the gaze, the same look of uncertainty and suspicion in both of their eyes, sharing the same thoughts.

Someone had to be living here.

"Alright, we're going in." America commanded, raising his hand high into the air and grinning like some sort of idiot. "Ivan, Gilbert, and Max, ready to kick some ghost-ass?"

"Matthew." Canada corrected his brother and just nodded right after. Honestly, he saw no point in this, but whatever. He didn't have anything to do on his list today; perhaps it was better than to just sit around his house and stare at Kumajiro eat his food.

"Who?" The voice asked, making Canada frown and look down at the bear in his arms. The polar bear stared up to the country with his beady eyes, tilting his head innocently along with asking the question once again. "Who?"

"Canada. Matthew. Your owner." Canada responded with a heavy sigh before he made his way to the front door. He turned the knob, surprised at how it was unlocked in the first place and opened it wide enough for them to go in. Once they were in, Canada pushed himself into the building as well and closed the door behind him. The inside of the building was clean. This only made Canada and Russia's suspicion grow towards the whole idea of only ghosts living in this house.

"I say we split up." Prussia threw the idea out first. America turned to the older country and frowned, as if he wanted to complain and tell Gilbert that he was the leader, so he was the ones who could give out ideas and commands, but managed to not complain. Instead he just puffed his cheeks out for a second like a child and moved on.

"I can take care of myself." He said, pointing to the stairs. "I'll check upstairs."

"I think I'll check the first floor." Russia said calmly, trying to not sound too frightened. He then looked to the other two in the group. "Mind taking care of the other floors?"

"If there are any." Canada nodded. Prussia too nodded as well, but his attention was already to the stairs that Alfred had pointed to. "I guess that means we will just have to meet here in a bit."

"Here, in front of the front door, in 30 minutes." Alfred said, looking at his watch. The other countries nodded in agreement. 30 minutes was more than enough to search a floor. Russia was the first to turn away from the group and began walking down the hall.

"I'll see you in a bit, then." He said, keeping his calm, innocent voice all the way through. He lifted a hand to wave to the group, and finally walked into what looked like a kitchen.

"Let's go." Alfred grinned and walked up the stairs. Matthew and Gilbert followed closely behind, only to stop and stare at the stairs that now came into their vision. So there was more than just two floors…

"I take the second floor." Gilbert claimed, seeing Alfred's body shaking with excitement when he saw the stairs leading further upward. He mentally sighed, rubbing the back of his head, reminding himself that the energetic blonde was the youngest in this group. "I'll be downstairs in a bit as well."

"Okay, Gilbert." The Canadian nodded thankfully before he led Alfred to the stairs. The brothers walked up, only to stop as soon as they saw another long trail of steps in front of them. Canada frowned. "…I guess I'll take the third floor."

"Yeah, you do that." Alfred laughed. "It's the floor that is less likely to be noticed."

"If you say so." The brother shook his head with a small smile on his face. "Go ahead, I'm sure you want to check the top floor, right?"

America blushed. Was it really that obvious? With a laugh, the American crossed his arms and boasted, "I'll do it for you, then." He then took no time to rush up the stairs to reach the top floor. He was the hero. He was going to be the one who looked up at the most awesome place in the house!

* * *

><p>Ivan did a quick scan of the kitchen and made his way to the sink, carefully turning the knob to the faucet. His frown only deepened when water started to drain out of the faucet. So, someone was still paying the bills of this house? Certainly ghosts couldn't do such deed, so who was? Quietly, the Russian turned the knob to close the way for the water to leave the faucet and opened the fridge. Fresh food, including milk, cheese, and all sorts of short-lasting ingredients lined up. Ivan carefully took a carton of milk and looked to the expiration date. Just as he thought, the milk was still perfectly fresh.<p>

"That's weird…" He whispered to himself as he placed the milk back into the fridge and closed the door. "Everything is cleaned as well…"

It had to be America's secret house or something. It was as if America had planned this ghost-hunting game from a while ago, and finally decided to do it today, when everyone finished their jobs. If that was the case… Then what was he fearing of? Just nonsense of the American's foolish courage tests?

* * *

><p>"Another bedroom." Gilbert sighed and closed the door without even taking a step into the room. This floor seemed to be nothing but bedrooms, and understandably, he was growing really bored. Nothing interesting was in the rooms. "I should've took the third floor…"<p>

The silver-haired country rested his hand on another knob and turned it, only to blink right after. Locked? With a frown, he tugged on the door harder. When it didn't budge, he groaned in annoyance. "That's just great." He murmured. "What am I going to tell them? There was a locked door in a house where nobody lives in? Nonsense…"

* * *

><p>"I knew there was something wrong with this place…" Matthew spoke to himself, opening a book. He was in a white room, filled with white book cases with billions of books. It almost seemed as if he stepped into a secret library. "It's too clean."<p>

"Not even a dust on the books." Kumajiro commented, agreeing with his friend.

"Do you think someone lives here?"

"I can smell someone." The polar bear nodded.

"You can…? Who is it?"

"I don't know." Kumajiro scratched his head with his large paw, struggling. Matthew let out a soft smile.

"No need to rush," he said, "We have plenty of time. Besides, if we are found, all we have to do is just apologize for breaking and entering."

"…" The bear said nothing back, but simply nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"I don't like this place…" The polar bear whined softly as his owner sorted through the books in the room. They seemed to have already been there long enough in Kumajiro's opinion. But then again, it was as if they had more than enough time to just keep searching. Canada already looked at the other room on the floor, and after seeing that it was just an ordinary bedroom, had went back to looking at the white library, as if he was drawn to the room by some weird power. "Hey… Do you hear me?"

"Yes, Kumakichi…" Matthew frowned. "But there's nothing really else to look at."

"Let's go get your brother, then…" Kumajiro pouted. "I'm bored and tired of this place."

"…" Matthew looked at his polar bear with his violet eyes and finally just nodded. "Okay."

* * *

><p>The American male sighed after he searched enough of the room. Groaning, he went through the same book case once more, despite having already checked it four times at least. The clock in the room however only showed that only 5 minutes had passed. And even so, Alfred felt he checked the entire room at least two times already. Weird feeling indeed. The room was not small, not at all. Was Alfred searching the room too blindly?<p>

"Nothing." He huffed, closing the book in his hand and pushing it back into its place. He turned around to look at the door, then back to the clock. He was not going to wait for 25 minutes just standing around. How boring could that be! The American was now regretting not taking the other floors. The fourth floor only contained one room. At least, in his memory, Prussia's floor had several doors he could search through.

"America?" Another voice came into the room. Alfred jumped and quickly turned to the entrance and exit of the room, only to relax right after when he saw the other blonde standing there, a polar bear tight in his grasp.

"Alfred." He corrected. "Remember? You shouldn't break the rules of the game so easily from the beginning."

"Sorry," Matthew hesitated, his violet hues quickly shifting from one side of the room to the other, "I kind of forgot… How's things up here?"

"Not too bad…" Alfred laughed. He allowed a moment for his brother to look around before he added on, "There's really nothing in here."

"Neither the third floor." Matthew let out a small chuckle. "This haunted mansion certainly doesn't seem to have ghosts in it as you anticipated."

"Huh? Oh… Yeah."

"Alfred?"

"…Hm?"

"…Nothing." Matthew shook his head. The American blinked but nodded right after. "Hey, we should probably go see the others now."

The Canadian brother nodded to the door, signaling to his twin. Alfred couldn't help but to blink slowly. "But it's only been 10 minutes…"

"What?" Kumajiro frowned. "No way! It's been at least an hour!"

"…?" Matthew said nothing but glanced up to the clock in the room. The hand moved another minute, and he glanced to his twin, who also glanced up to the clock as well questioningly. No… The clock showed only 11 minutes passed since they began the search. But that couldn't be right… Matthew knew for a fact that he searched the second floor thoroughly, and he couldn't have done it in only 10 minutes!

"I say we double check that clock up there…" Alfred suggested. "If you two are positive that it should have been more than what it says… We might want to fix it so others don't get confused."

"I agree." Kumajiro grumbled in annoyance.

As Matthew nodded in agreement, Alfred reached up and grabbed the clock on the wall. It noisily clicked over and over, timing the seconds as it passed, and seemed to work normally.

"Is the time correct?" Alfred asked Matthew, who looked to his watch slowly, only to shake his head right after and sigh. Alfred took it as a no and placed his hand to the knob in the back to fix it, only to be stopped by his brother immediately after.

"No… I mean… I don't know what time it really is."

"What…?"

The two brothers stared at Matthew's watch, and after seeing the hands spin over and over backwards in quick motions, Alfred couldn't help but to look at his own quickly. Same thing happened to his watch as well, and the brothers couldn't help but to look at the clock in Alfred's hands, in which was still slowly ticking time.

"Now that's just creepy." Alfred let out a nervous laugh. "How's this thing the only thing that tells us time?"

"Oh? But I thought you were expecting at least something from a haunted mansion?" Matthew teased, chuckling right after. Kumajiro pushed his muzzle towards closer to the clock and gave it a quick sniff, only to scrunch his nose up immediately after. The polar bear's eyes widened, and next thing he knew, he was already lashing at the clock with his forepaw.

"K-Kumako!" Matthew blinked in surprise as America quickly dropped the clock to avoid getting slashed by the bear's claws. He gave the polar bear a quick glare.

"That wasn't nice!" He complained. "You almost sliced me as well!"

"…" Kumajiro just stayed silent, his muzzle still wrinkled into a growl. The scent that came from the clock was not something he favored one bit. It smelled like… Blood. Tears. Death.

"…?" Matthew blinked at the sudden change in his friend, only to feel something flash in his eyes. Alfred too immediately went silent, but Matthew failed to notice so. Kumajiro blinked, coming back to his senses, and was greeted by the silent twins, their irises staring into the distance, to nothing, really.

* * *

><p><em>"England? England! England, what happened?" America whimpered as he held the limp man in his arms. "England… Answer me!"<em>

_The Englishman's outfit was stained in crimson liquid, and a pool of blood also had already formed under him. America whimpered like a lost puppy and clenched the man tighter in his grasp. Tears spilled onto England's green uniform and mixed into the blood, but honestly, America could barely even notice that. The pride he had in wanting to seem to be the strong hero in everything had already crashed._

_"No… This can't be true…" The American growled, though with his whimpers mixing in, he sounded less than intimidating. "Damn him… Damn that bastard…"_

_'Who…?' Alfred asked, unable to look away from the scene of himself and England. He seemed to have been thrown randomly into a dream where he could only watch himself suffer. How dreadful… And annoying. It must have been one of England's nasty tricks._

_"Damn him…"_

* * *

><p>"…W… What…?" Alfred blinked back to reality. He stood still for a moment, staring at the broken clock on the floor, unable to understand what just happened. It was as if he was thrown into a dream and suddenly awoken. From the corner of his eyes, he saw his twin do the same, as in, just stare blankly at the clock, trying to gather his thoughts.<p>

"Did… You see that?" Alfred asked. Matthew blinked slowly and glanced up to Alfred, and immediately, tears filled his eyes. The American was taken back, and couldn't help but to just stare at the older twin almost in confusion. What was going on?

"You… You're alive." Matthew whispered.

"Of course I am." Alfred said, still looking puzzled. What was he talking about? Wasn't it England that died in the dream?

"You… You died just a minute ago."

"No I didn't…" Alfred grumbled. "No, the one who died was England. But either way, it's just a dream, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Matthew whimpered almost silently, as if he was asking himself more than he was to his brother. The older twin looked down to Kumajiro, who glanced up to Canada slowly.

"…It was just a dream." Alfred repeated. "Hey, let's go get the others."

"No, wait! Alfred!" Matthew quickly grabbed his brother's sleeve and frowned. "Wait! If you go out this room…"

"What? Are you scared of the dreams?"

"…Alfred, in the dream, you died… You were slaughtered. There… There was blood… Everywhere… I don't want that to happen to you…"

"Dream." Alfred narrowed his eyes. "Just a dream."

"But…"

"If that really happens, Matthew, I would then have to accept that England's already here and ready to die as well. I know that's not what's really going on… What are you so worried about?"

"I just don't want you to die!" Matthew finally cried out, the tears in his eyes finally spilling and flowing down his cheeks. "Don't you get it, America? What if what we just saw was a warning? What then? If it showed us what was going to happen to us now, then you could die the moment you step out of this room!"

Alfred stared at his brother, unable to have the words sink into his mind. "If that's the case… Then I need to leave anyway. England's in trouble and I'm not going to just sit back and watch him die." He then grabbed the hand that clung to his sleeve and pulled it off. "And I'm not America. I'm Alfred."

The look on Matthew's face was painful. Alfred glanced away as soon as he could and left the room, closing the door behind him and leaving his brother in the room all alone with the 'stupid' bear.

_Fine._ Alfred thought to himself with a random grunt. _If he wants to be a scardy cat… Then let him be one._

* * *

><p>"Another one." Gilbert growled. He sat on the bed in the room and clicked his tongue in annoyance. "That's all that's here… Just bedrooms… And two locked doors. Not a single 'ghost' in sight. How boring."<p>

As he closed his eyes, he pushed his left hand into his pocket and pulled out a cellphone to check the time. His eyes narrowed however when he saw that the phone only blacked out immediately when he opened it, and didn't turn back on. Frustrated, Gilbert opened and closed the phone several times in his hand before he tossed it to his side on the bed and plopped himself down fully, back on the sheets. "Perfect." He complained, "Just perfect. I swear I charged it last night… It must be the stupid batteries that Finland sold to me. I knew I knew better than to trust him… I should've just gotten it from West…"

Prussia's eyes opened slowly, and he stared at the wall. Ugh… How much time did he have left? 30 minutes was the time limit, right? He glanced to the clock in the room and grumbled when he saw he still had some time left. Well… Better early than late, right? He could just wait for them outside the room…

With that in mind, Gilbert pushed himself up from the bed and picked up his phone. He stuffed the blue phone in his pocket and opened the door, when his eyes widened slightly.

* * *

><p>"A toilet?" Ivan blinked when he opened the door. With a scowl of dissatisfaction clear on his face, he closed the door and went back to looking around the first floor. He opened another door and his frown deepened when he saw that the room was nothing but a bathroom.<p>

"…" He slowly made his way to the tub and looked inside, only to see water in the tub. Slowly the Russian poked the liquid with his finger, only to quickly pull it out right after, as if the water itself was contaminated. "…Cold." He concluded, stating the quick summary of the temperature of the water in the tub, and wiped his finger on his coat. "So it wasn't filled recently…"

* * *

><p>"So this is the place…?" Japan asked Italy as soon as they arrived at the mansion. Seeing Italy nod, Japan glanced back to the building, feeling a shudder run down his spine.<p>

"I don't think it's a good idea to be playing in places like this…" England said, his green irises shifting to the Italian. Italy hesitated but soon said cheerfully to the group.

"Ve, Alfred said it was going to be fun!"

"…So we're really going by these fake names?" France asked, raising an eyebrow. Italy nodded.

"Canada as Matthew, Alfred for America, Gilbert is Prussia and Ivan, Russia. That's going to take time to get used to."

"…Mhm." Italy nodded. "B-But… I'm sure we'll have time memorizing them, right?"

"Hai, Feliciano-kun." Japan nodded.

"If you say so." Germany blinked. He crossed his arms and glanced back to the mansion, his eyes narrowing slowly. Really, why was he here again? Oh yes… He was a babysitter. He remembered thinking that the others would only cause trouble if he wasn't there to watch them.

"So let me try to get names straight," China mumbled, his sleeves covering his pointed finger to each person as he recited their names. "Kiku, Feliciano, Ludwig, Francis, Arthur, and I'm Yao. I think I got it this time, aru."

"Hai," Kiku smiled, "Perfectly done."

As Yao sighed in relief, Arthur looked around his surroundings, already feeling dizzy. Something just wasn't right here. He could sense it.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Hello!" Feliciano called out when he entered the mansion. Behind him, Ludwig followed silently, his ocean-colored irises scanning the area quickly. Kiku was after him, walking in with Yao. The Asians too glanced around, amazed at how the place was clean, despite it being abandoned. Francis followed taking the doorknob in his hand and allowing himself to stroll in. He was ready to close the door, when he caught a glimpse of another member who had yet to enter himself into the building.

"Arthur," Francis called, blinking and opening the door a little wider for the Englishman. "Stop stalling us."

Arthur had his eyes shut and hands closed into tight fists by his side. He seemed to be shaking in Francis' eyes, which made him not complain further. The French's lips parted slowly in curiosity as to the English's sudden behavioral change. Only after he called Arthur by his country name did the other man respond, seemingly snapping back to reality. "Huh? Oh… Sorry."

"Are you feeling alright?" Ludwig asked, looking over his shoulder to see Arthur walking in slowly and cautiously. The German only turned fully when he saw the color disappearing from Arthur's face, perhaps from fear. Feliciano blinked and turned around as well, though, he only stood in his place, unlike the muscular German, who rushed by the sickly looking male.

_Oh yeah…_ Feliciano gradually closed his eyes. _He can feel it, can't he?_

"I'm fine." Arthur growled, gathering his strength together within himself. As Ludwig tried to support him, he seemed hesitant, but soon accepted it and leaned in to the German's support until he was able to stand on his own feet.

"He doesn't seem fine, aru." Yao frowned. "It's probably from all the walking. Europeans surely are not healthy at all. You should exercise more often."

As Kiku moved himself to Ludwig's side to help, Feliciano opened his eyes once more. The Italian forced out a smile when Arthur pushed himself away from Ludwig's support and began walking, his left hand rising up to cover his face. With his index finger and thumb, Arthur rubbed between his eyes, groaning. He mumbled something inaudible to the others and began to pace around.

"Is he really okay?" Francis watched, raising an eyebrow. Feliciano turned to the man, and with his forced smile, nodded.

"I'm sure he's just tired, like Yao said." He said, looking to the stairs right after. "Maybe we can rest a little bit before we do anything."

"I rather just leave this place now." Ludwig said after taking a deep breath. He watched as Arthur shook his head, trying to clear his mind, and looked back to the Italian. "I believe that will be the best choice. Let's hurry up and find the others and just leave this place."

"…Okay." Feliciano nodded. He tried to look disappointed, but he couldn't help but to show a small smile on his face. This is what Germany said all the time. No matter what Feliciano said, they will end up with the idea of finding the others and leaving anyway, so he really saw it better to save the time. Perhaps then, more people may be alive.

"I'll go look around for them with Kiku." Yao moved himself next to the Japanese man, who frowned at first but reluctantly nodded. Feliciano quickly pushed himself into the conversation, hoping to get what he wanted.

"I'll go alone." He said, smiling to Ludwig, as if asking for permission. The German blinked to Feliciano's words but nodded.

"If you say so." He said, "I'll go with…"

"I'll go with Arthur." Francis grumbled, then whispered so that the English man will not hear, "I want to keep an eye on him, if you don't mind."

"No, that's fine." Ludwig approved. "I'll go by myself then. We will all meet here after we find someone. If you can't find someone within the next hour, then just come back here. Others may have found them. Sounds good?"

"Mhm," Feliciano nodded, "Sounds good!"

* * *

><p>"And you are?" The Russian asked, a frown on his face. He turned fully around to face the thing that stood behind him, silent, looking at him with big beady eyes. Ivan couldn't help but to feel a shiver run down his spine as the thing continued to stare down at him, a smile soon coming to its creepy face.<p>

"I don't remember hearing that America's friend is in this." The Russian said, pulling out a long pipe with a faucet at the end. He spun it quickly in his hand and pointed it to the monster. The monster continued to smile and stare, and only turned around right after, leaving the bathroom in which Ivan was in. After the monster left, the Russian's brows furrowed suspiciously. He placed the pipe back under his coat and opened the door in which the alien exited from, and stepped out slowly. "…What was that?"

* * *

><p>"I didn't expect you to want to look around with me," Kiku said as he opened the door to the kitchen and dining room on the first floor. "Is there a reason for this?"<p>

"…" Yao followed after Kiku and walked into the dining and kitchen room. He said nothing in response to Kiku's question, only heading straight for the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and like Ivan, checked the dates of the fresh items. "…Fresh."

"What?" Kiku asked, moving himself to Yao's side. He blinked and looked at the dates as well, frowning immediately. "That's strange…"

"Aiyah… Someone must be living here…" The Chinese man said, putting the milk back into the fridge and closing the door. He then went to the sink and turned it on, and after checking that the water flowed out, turned it off and checked the gas for the stove. As he did so, the Japanese man moved to look around the dining room.

Kiku swiped his index finger over the table, and after seeing that no dust stuck to his finger, he narrowed his eyes slowly. His attention was then shifted to the television. He got the remote that sat on the table and attempted to turn it on, but failed. The television just didn't turn on. Curious, Kiku pushed the button on the television, but nothing happened.

"That's weird…" He tilted his head, checking the cords. The cords were connected, which made him even more puzzled. Not even the static mess came onto the screen. It was as if there was no electricity flowing into the matter.

"Kiku," Yao called, catching his attention. Kiku pushed himself up back onto his feet from his legs and strolled back into the kitchen.

"Yes?"

"Look," Yao said, pointing to a door. "It was hidden behind the plate cabinet. I moved it a little and I found it, aru."

"I see." Kiku nodded. "I wonder where it connects to?"

"I don't know, aru." Yao frowned. "It's locked. Won't open."

"That's a disappointment." The younger nation laughed lightly. He turned the knob, as if to make sure, and was proven right. The door was locked. The knob turned but it was as if there was something blocking the path for the door to open. "Do you think someone may be inside?"

"I doubt it, aru." Yao frowned. "Unless they are the ones behind this whole mess of a stupid haunted house fun game they're trying to play out."

* * *

><p>"You really didn't have to pair up with me." Arthur grumbled, almost in pure annoyance, as Francis walked beside him, staying with the Englishman's pace. The shorter country seemed to have difficulty even just walking, seeing he almost fell over several times and managed to push himself back up onto his own feet using doorknobs and walls. It was as if watching a toddler just learn how to walk. Francis couldn't help but to worry. Though he didn't like England that much, he still had to admit, he was used to seeing him strong and sarcastic, not weak and helpless as he looked at the moment.<p>

"You're like a little kid right now!" Francis laughed, hoping to bring the usual, angry 'gentleman' back. "Look at you! You can't even walk straight! Big Brother cannot just leave you like this, that'll be horrible!"

"So if that's the case… Why are we going to the fourth floor? Why not keep it easy and take it the first?"

"Because the old people wanted to take the first floor." Francis replied with a laugh. "You know them, they keep complaining about their back pains. As gentlemen, we cannot have them use the stairs!"

"…" Arthur sighed as he pulled another foot up and stepped on the next step on the stairs. They were almost there. Only a few more steps and they'll be on the fourth floor. Arthur felt so dizzy though, that he wasn't sure he could make it. What was this place? He couldn't feel as powerful or healthy as he normally could've, or even was, before they reached this place. Feeling nausea kick in, he slumped down on the step, covering his face with his palms. Francis stopped and looked down to his partner, before glancing back up to the door to what seemed to connect to the only room on the fourth floor.

"We're almost there." He encouraged. "Can you make it?"

"Just give me a moment." Arthur responded. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. After a few seconds the nausea went away, and the dizziness soon faded off. Only then did he open his eyes again in his palm and gasp.

"America!" He suddenly blurted out. Francis jumped in surprise, and glanced up to where Arthur was looking, but frowned when he didn't see the young country that Arthur had mentioned.

"America?" He asked, tilting his head in question. "Where?"

"…" Arthur didn't respond. He only removed his hands from his face and stared at the door wide-eyed. For a second, he swore he saw the younger country there. But now… He was gone. Like he was never in that place to begin with. "…What the hell?"

"Maybe you should really lie down." Francis suggested. He helped Arthur back to his feet by pulling his arm, and after he was sure that the Englishman had his balance, let go and began to climb up the stairs once more. "Come on."

"…" Arthur said nothing and just began to carry himself up the stairs once more. When the two finally reached the door, to which to Arthur seemed like forever, Francis opened it easily, only to freeze in spot. Arthur blinked in confusion and peered in from Francis' side, only to freeze as well. The two countries stood there, dead silent, blood rushing away from their heads and down to their feet.

"No…" Francis was the first to break the long silence. He finally gathered enough strength after a long time to take one step into the room. "No… No…"

Arthur, still frozen in spot, watched as the French man took one step after the other further into the room. He couldn't help but to slump back down on his knees, using his hands as well to support his weight, and tried to fight away the dizzy feeling once again.

"No…" Francis murmured over and over, finally reaching the figure that caused him to go into shock. He slumped down, much like Arthur was positioned at the door, and grabbed the figure. It was covered in blood, and some pieces were missing… No, it seemed like torn off. Francis easily located the missing pieces from the figure, one at the corner of the room and a few others scattered around in different places like trash. "No, Canada! Wake up!"

* * *

><p>"Alfred?" Gilbert blinked when he saw the figure at the door. "What's going on?"<p>

"I just figured I'll help you search the second floor!" The American grinned. "There's a lot of rooms, it must be hard work!"

Gilbert laughed. "Nah, I finished. They're all bedrooms."

"How boring." Alfred whined.

"I'll be down there in a few seconds." Gilbert said, nodding to the stairs. "Meet you down there. Let me fix this bed, in case whoever lives here likes to keep things clean. It was perfect when I came in."

"Alright then." Alfred nodded and pouted. "See ya."

* * *

><p>"There it is…" Feliciano said, taking out a piece of hard metal from behind the fusuma door. "Lucky guess, I guess. It's been a while since I got it with the first try. Now… Where was the other one…?"<p> 


End file.
